


What Would I Do Without Him?

by Kiera540



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Established Kuroo Tetsurou/Tsukishima Kei, Established Relationship, Everyone Is Gay, Everyone Needs A Hug, Haikyuu - Freeform, Kuroo - Freeform, Kuroo Tetsurou is a Good Significant Other, Kuroo Tetsurou is a Little Shit, M/M, PLEASE make that a tag, Rare Pairings, Tsukishima Kei is Bad at Feelings, Tsukki is Insecure, haikyuu rarepair, no beta we die like daichi, of course
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-05
Updated: 2020-12-05
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:29:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27891562
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kiera540/pseuds/Kiera540
Summary: Kuroo has too much homework, and Tsukishima doesn’t understand how he could possibly deserve him as his boyfriend. Turns out, Kuroo feels the same way.
Relationships: Kuroo Tetsurou/Tsukishima Kei
Kudos: 62





	What Would I Do Without Him?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [pretty_rekless](https://archiveofourown.org/users/pretty_rekless/gifts).



> Inspired by my own finals and a live stream from Pretty.Rekless and HamanoHoney on TikTok.  
> Go check them both out, they’re amazing! I’ve never written for this paring before, but I love them so much. Let me know what you think, and as always, enjoy! I honestly have no idea how I got this out so fast.

Kuroo groaned as he stared at the seemingly endless stack of papers before him. It was the week before his finals started but that didn’t mean his professors were taking it easy on him. It was ridiculous how much homework, quizzes, and tests he had due considering how much his professors preached about using this time to study for the final exams. He glared at his calculous homework for another few minutes before deciding his brain was way too fried to work on it anymore. He tossed those books aside and pulled his online calendar open once again to see what else was due soon. His research paper quickly drew his attention and he dropped his head heavily onto his desk when he remembered he hadn’t even started it yet. He turned his head sideways to peek at his computer as he opened the instructions for the paper. The topic did nothing to help him, it was general aviation aircraft engines! He rubbed at his face then, what the hell did he know about airplane engines?!

Kuroo allowed himself another minute to be miserable before he dragged his body up to get more coffee before he started. On his way back, he noticed the plate full of his dinner that was carefully made for him. He gave a small smile at the thought, but didn’t feel like eating any more than the few bites he had earlier. He gathered up the plate and silverware to place it on the kitchen counter so it would effectively be out of his way while he worked.

He dropped himself back into his desk chair and read through the remaining instructions. His professor had helpfully listed some types of general aviation planes which made it a little easier. Since Kuroo didn’t know anything about them, he chose the first option that was listed and began pulling up everything he could on a Cessna 172. He quickly realized there were several different types of possible engines in his chosen model. He rubbed his eyes and began clicking on random websites to find what he was looking for.

“Get to know your Cessna 172 Skyhawk engine!” Kuroo read the website title aloud. Well, it definitely sounded promising. Deciding it was a start, he clicked the link and continued reading.

“When in doubt, remember the acronym ‘CHANDL’!” The website boasted in a much too cheery tone compared to how Kuroo felt.

“CHANDL stands for: carburetor equipped,” Kuroo pulled open his Word document and began typing. No problems so far, he knew what a carburetor was. “Horizontally opposed, air-cooling,” it continued. Well air-cooling sounded simple enough, but what did it mean it was horizontally opposed? He typed it down and figured he could find out later.

“The ‘N’ is for normally aspirated, ‘D’ for direct drive, and finally the ‘L’ stands for Lycoming O-320!” The website finished.

“What?!” Was all Kuroo could think to say. What the hell were those for?! The website didn’t provided descriptions so he scrolled down to the comments section. His search proved unfruitful when most of the comments were pilots cracking jokes about the fact that there was another acronym. Kuroo discovered that apparently there are a lot of acronym’s that pilots were required to memorized. One comment caught his attention though. “A Continental O-300 is better!” it yelled. Kuroo’s eyes flashed as realization hit, that must be two different manufactures! He gave a cheer at his small victory while adding another note in the document. He still had a lot of work to do, but it seemed more realistic now. He cracked his knuckles and opened a new tab to begin figuring out what the other letters stood for.

* * *

There was only one word for how Tsukishima Kei felt, and that word was death. He was exhausted. His quiet Friday had turned into a jam-packed school day filled with his classes running long, hours in the library to study, and an emergency meeting for a group project because the due date had been changed. Four days! The professor changed the due date to four days sooner than it was originally! Tsukki scoffed at the memory, did he think he was the only class his students were taking?! He reminded himself that there was only one more week left and if he could just make it to the end he would finally be done with this damn semester. He trudged up the three flights of stairs to his shared apartment. He felt like flipping the stairs off once he made it to the top and was panting slightly. Why had they chosen an apartment on the third floor when their building didn’t have an elevator?

Jamming his key into the door, he nudged it open with his foot. He quickly caught the door before it could hit the wall and squinted into the dark apartment. He knew it was late, but there was no way his night owl had gone to bed already. He turned his head to the bedroom and his suspicions were confirmed when he spotted a light coming from the cracked door. He quietly closed the door behind him to block out the cold and kicked his shoes off. He turned on the single light above the sink so he wouldn’t die as he navigated around the familiar setting. He took off his jacket and tucked it away into the nearby coat closet. He frowned when he turned around and saw the plate full of food on the counter. He had been able to come back and make dinner before he had to go for his group meeting and was concerned to see it sitting there. There was no way that was enough for his other half, and a quick touch confirmed it’s cold state. It must have been sitting there for a while.

He dropped his heavy backpack onto the couch and crept to their bedroom. He gently eased the door open, hoping to sneak in without getting tackled by the other man. When nothing happened, he glanced around suspicious to find the raven asleep at his desk. He sighed at his boyfriends current state. Every semester once finals started to near, Kuroo always ended up overworking himself.

He snuck around him to try and gently shake him awake. Kuroo grunted, but otherwise didn’t move. Tsukki sighed again and glanced at his desk.

“What’s the point of making coffee if you’re not going to drink it?” He scolded the other man. He picked up the cup to move it a safe distance away when a thought popped onto his head. It wouldn’t happen to be something else....right? A cautious sniff settled his mind as he chuckled softly when the dark brew filled his nostrils and finished moving the cup away. He shook Kuroo again in another attempt to wake the man. Kuroo hit his mouse as he buried his head further into his arms instead of doing what he was supposed to. Tsukki squinted at the sudden bright glare of his computer screen as it was woken up instead.

“What the hell is normally aspirated?” He questioned. He noticed several strange tabs had been opened along with a word document. Tsukki reached around Kuroo to save the document and bookmark the tabs before shutting down the computer. What would this man do without him?

“Kuroo?” He called gently into his ear and kissed his temple. “Come on, don’t sleep here.” Kuroo’s eyes flitted open at the soft voice in his ear.

“Hey Tsukki.” His voice slurred out, barely clinging to consciousness.

“Let’s get to the bed.” Tsukishima convinced, tugging at his shirt. Kuroo nodded and pushed himself up to stand on wobbly legs. The blond was quick to wrap an arm around his waist to help balance him while they made their way to the bed in the center of the room. He nudged Kuroo to fall onto the bed once he deemed they were close enough. Trusting Kuroo to not do anything too stupid for the next five minutes, he swept around the house gathering the full coffee cup on his way. He unpacked his own backpack, wrapped up Kuroo’s uneaten food, and bookmarked the pile of open books still on his desk. Seriously, what would this man do without him?

He glanced at Kuroo and saw the man was fully passed out on the bed now. Well he’d probably be out until midday tomorrow. He walked closer with the intention of pulling the covers around his boyfriend, but that didn’t exactly go to plan. Instead he found a hand around his wrist and was suddenly pulled into a comforting warmth.

“Kuroo!” He gasped in surprised. The man in question didn’t appear to break out of his sleep, but still pulled him closer at the sound of his voice. Tsukki struggled for a minute, but quickly realized he wouldn’t be getting out of his hold anytime soon. He sighed for a third time and quit struggling.

“You sigh to much.” Kuroo muttered above him.

“Maybe because you are irritating.” Tsukki huffed.

“What? ‘M not irritating, the word is ‘entertaining’ Kei.” He murmured, still not fully awake. Tsukishima gave a breathy laugh at his words. That was certainly one way to phrase it.

“There it is.”

“Hmm? There’s what?” The younger questioned.

“I made you laugh.” The older spoke barely above a whisper as sleep reclaimed him. To Tsukki, he wouldn’t have noticed a difference if he had shouted those words. They rang around his head and embedded themselves into his brain. It was the first time someone had ever gone out of their way to make him laugh. He knew he didn’t have the most approachable personality, but that was hardly his own fault. He had been hurt before and the thought of letting people get close to him just to be hurt again wasn’t something he could allow.

Tears started to sting his eyes. It didn’t matter how much of a salty attitude he had when he first met Kuroo. He patiently waited and allowed the blond to come to him. It still shocked Tsukki to this day how much Kuroo cared for him. He had pushed him away, but the man never strayed far from his side. He gave him the room he needed, but was always there when he needed him. Tears started falling down his face, he had been so nasty to him, why did he stick around? He could have any man or woman he wanted, why would he remain with the guy who snapped at him, the guy who yelled at him, the guy who struggled to keep up with him? He deserved someone who was so much better than he was, so why did he stick around?

Kuroo twitched at the wetness slowly forming on his chest. He blinked, how did he end up in the bed? He lifted his head slightly, something wasn’t right. He blearily looked around, but didn’t notice anything out of place. He was about to go back to sleep when a sniffle from below him forced him to snap his head down to look at the man he was holding in his arms.

“Tsukki?” He whisper, trying to crane his neck down to see his face.

“It’s nothing!” He immediately defended.

“Tsukki, look at me, what’s wrong?” Kuroo slowly released the man so he could get a better look at him, but the other just tried to follow him and hide his face once again.

“Kei.” He called. Tsukishima froze at the tone, it was filled with genuine concern and worry. His eyes blurred to the point that he could hardly see, but he didn’t fight the hand that snuck under his chin to raise his eyes to meet the raven’s.

“Kei, talk to me, what is it?” Kuroo pleaded with him.

“Why?” He croaked out, Kuroo gave him a confused look. “Why me?” His voice trembled so much that it was hard to understand his words, but it was enough for Kuroo.

“What do you mean ‘why me?’ it could only ever be you.” Kuroo spoke confidently, but gently.

“How could I possibly be? All-” His voice broke in the middle of his sentence, “All I ever do is snap, or yell, or be mean to you.”

“Really? So when you snap at me to do my homework it’s not because you’ve memorized all of my due dates and know they’re coming up soon? When you yell at me to clean the dishes or do my laundry it’s not because you’re looking out for my mental health? When you tease me, or smack me, or glare at me it’s not because you love me?” Kuroo smiled at the disbelieving look on his boyfriend’s face.

“Kei, you are the only one it could be. The only one willing to watch over me, the only one who keeps me healthy, the only one who goes out of his way to make sure I’m doing okay, and you want to say you aren’t enough for me? That’s not true! How could I ever be enough for you?” Kuroo finished holding his face with both hands and using his thumbs to wipe away his tears.

That last sentence was enough to shake Tsukki about of his reverie. “How?” he asked, “You were patient, and kind. Who else would put forth that effort? You waited for me, when I wasn’t ready, you guided me when I was lost, you were the one who offered me a hand when I had fallen.” Kuroo let lose one of him infamous laughs as Tsukki’s words grew stronger the longer he went on.

“What could you possibly be laughing about right now?!” He snapped.

“Is this going to turn into a ‘I love you more than you love me’ kind of thing?” He gasped between fits of laughter.

“You are infuriating!” Kei yelled, smacking his partner on the shoulder, “We were having a moment!”

“See? Love!” Kuroo managed before rolling onto his back as laughter poured out of him. Kei looked away from him, feigning anger, but Kuroo knew it was just because he was trying not to laugh himself. Kuroo had just begun calming down when Tsukki sighed again. The cat launched himself at the other man and secured him in his arms as his laughter was reignited. Tsukishima couldn’t hold back a few giggles at the raven’s absurd amount of glee. The more he listened to that boisterous laugh, the more the doubts were shoved out of his mind. If Kuroo wasn’t happy, how could he laugh so freely with him?

The blond twisted around and caught a glance at the alarm clock on their nightstand table, and gasped when he noticed the time.

“Kuroo, shut up!” He tried, but the man ignored him. “Tetsurou!” That did it. Kuroo’s head snapped in his direction easily and stared with attention at him. Kei pointed one hand and the clock and held the other over his own lips. Kuroo’s eyes widened when the indications showed it to be two in the morning. He couldn’t stop himself from laughing again, but to his credit, he kept the volume in check this time. Tsukki couldn’t contain it anymore and broke into quiet laughter with him.

“Come on, let’s go to bed, I’m tired.” Kuroo muttered trying to force himself to calm down. Tsukki nodded slowly at him. The raven reached over and pulled his glasses off his face and was enthralled by the man’s beautiful eyes.

“Hey,” he called, gaining his attention, “I love you.” He said suddenly serious.

“I know Tetsu. I love you too.” He answered, knowing in his heart that both statements were true.

“Yeah, but I totally love you more than you love me.” Kuroo quipped as he reached over to safely discard Kei’s glasses on the nightstand table.

“We are not starting this now.”

“Yes, because we both know I would win.” Tsukki smirked at him.

“You know why I like to sleep with you holding me to your chest? It puts me in perfect striking range of multiple targets.” Alarm bells sounded in Kuroo’s head at those words, he realized he had put himself into a very compromising position.

“Uhhhhh, remember you love me?” Kuroo spoke quickly in an attempt to save his vital organs. Tsukishima shook his head at him, but used his advantage to steal a kiss from Kuroo before settling into his chest for the night. Kuroo breathed a sigh of relief and wrapped his arms around him to hold him tightly.

 _Seriously,_ Tsukki thought, _what would I do without him?_

**Author's Note:**

> Well that was longer than I was expecting! I actually had a lot of fun writing this pairing.  
> Please leave a like or a comment to let me know that you thought so I may improve. If you liked my writing style, I’ve got some more Haikyuu pairings on my profile so check them out if you’d like!  
> Also! In case any of you were wondering where Kuroo’s research paper topic came from, it’s actually because I’m a pilot and it was the only thing I knew well enough to talk about lol.  
> See you next time!  
> ~Kiera540


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